1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical power systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electrical power system that can be used to interconnect a plurality of generators to a plurality of loads while being rated at less than a total power consumed.
2. Description of Prior Art
Power distribution buses are commonly used to distribute power from sources, such as generators and/or electrical power providers, to electrical loads. As a total power consumed is increased, a rating of a distribution bus must also be increased. In other words, bus ratings must be increased to handle an increase in total power consumed flowing through a bus.
However, there are practical limits on rating increases for conventional buses. For example, skin effect limits a bus bar's current carrying capacity. Additionally, components for higher rated buses are very expensive and occupy a large space. Therefore, it is not always practical to simply increase a rating of a bus.
One prior art solution is to use a lower rated bus and then use step-up and step-down transformers to reduce a current flow through the bus. For example, power can be generated at a generation voltage and a generation current. A step-up transformer may be used to increase the generation voltage to a distribution voltage, thereby decreasing the generation current to a distribution current. A distribution bus then carries the distribution current to a step-down transformer, which decreases the distribution voltage to a motor voltage, thereby increasing the distribution current to a motor current. In this case, the distribution bus need only be rated to handle the distribution current. However, this further complicates a power system by adding components, with their associated costs and space requirements. This problem is especially troublesome where the generation voltage can be made equal to the motor voltage, since the transformers would otherwise be superfluous.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved electrical power system that overcomes the limitations of the prior art.